More details about the death of Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Anant Bhati are being released as his funeral is held Sunday.

Bhati died Friday at the age of 71. He suffered head trauma after a fall on Feb. 8.

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Bhati had originally been taken to Good Samaritan Hospital. Tim Burke, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, said Bhati was transferred to University Hospital on Friday, only to die a short time later.

Family members said Bhati had been showing signs of improvement, but took an unexpected turn for the worse. They said his death caught them off guard.

Funeral services and visitation were held Sunday at the Gwen Mooney Funeral Home on Spring Grove Avenue. In lieu of flowers, the family requested that a donation be made to the Darwin T. Turner Scholars Program, which helps disadvantaged youth.

Among those at Bhati's funeral were former colleagues and patients.

"He will be missed horrendously," said Gretel Stephens, who worked with Bhati at the coroner's office. "I have no idea what's going to happen about replacing him, but he was such a wonderful man and very caring."

Burke said the Democratic Party is now faced with the challenge of appointing someone to Bhati's position. Bhati is on the ballot for the March primary. There's nothing that can be done to change that.

By law, the Democratic Party has 45 days to appoint someone to the coroner's position. They can choose someone to fill the position in the meantime.

But what happens in November is still unclear.

"Under normal circumstances, if you had a candidate on the primary ballot and they later withdraw, the party can then find a replacement to fill that spot. If there's no candidate in the primary ballot, we don't have that option," said Caleb Faux, executive director of the Hamilton County Democratic Party. "This is a unique set of circumstances because of the passing of the candidate, rather than a withdrawal, and I'm not quite sure what the law says about that."

The Hamilton County Democratic Party meets next on Wednesday.

Faux said it was not known how long it would take to name Bhati's replacement or who that might be.